arme kat

very very gruesome, and extremely unhinged

What a disappointing little story.

I was expecting a lot from this- Poe managed to make nightmare fuel out of a simple raven, so what terrific terrors might he concoct of a black cat, which already has a weight of lore and superstition behind it?

Well, sadly, The Black Cat really isn't about a black cat. It's mostly about the narrator/protagonist (unnamed, as always), who also happens to be the most unsavoury character I have ever read about in a short story. Because not only is he evil- the man kills a defenceless cat who loves him- but he is also incredibly stupid. (That wasn't a spoiler, by the by- it happens about two pages in.) A drunk and an animal abuser, we get to follow this lovely man as he makes a complete 180 from gentle, quiet, animal lover to alcoholic and murderer.



That's the main reason why I gave this just two stars: the man's transformation is so damn unrealistic. I realise that alcoholism can change people- make them bitter, angry, distracted- but it does not completely overhaul who they are inside. He is a totally different person by the end of seven pages than he was when he began, and his reasoning for why this was- pinning it all on alcohol- was feeble and ridiculous. It's also never explained why he began drinking excessively in the first place. He's also a moron of the highest order:

Spoiler

after inexplicably MURDERING HIS WIFE (all because of alcohol and a damned cat) he's so confident in his Cask of Amontillado-esque form of body disposal that he unintentionally rats himself out.

I wanted to punch this asshole in the face, especially when he said things like this:

And a brute beast- whose fellow I had contemptuously destroyed- a brute beast to work out for me- for me, a man fashioned in the image of the High God- so much of insufferable woe! Alas! neither by day nor by night knew I the blessing of rest any more!

BOO HOO WOE IS YOU.

The supernatural element in here was quite confusing. I didn't really understand the significance of the cat other than a catalyst to madness, and I feel like The Raven does a much better job of portraying a specific animal as a distressing symbol of unending grief. The eponymous black cat isn't anything special, and there's no explanation of why the man projected all of his rage onto this one random feline. Look, I hate cats, but I've never been pushed to hang one from a tree, and I'm certain I wouldn't even if I was super drunk and angry. People have principles that can't just be thrown away with the introduction of alcoholism or cat-rage.

The writing was nice, but even that couldn't save this mess from the stupidity and inexplicability it was drowning in, so it gets two sad stars from me.





(I still love you, Edgar.)

new favorite from poe.

Aunque no seas castigado por un delito, tu propia moral es lo que te destruye, y eso es lo inevitable